Plasma renin activity in oedematous and marasmic children with protein energy malnutrition.

Plasma renin activity was measured by bio-assay in 52 children with kwashiorkor, in 28 with marasmus and in 21 healthy children. Plasma renin activity was significantly increased in children with kwashiorkor and marasmus, compared with healthy children, and in children who died, compared with survivors. No strict causal relationship could be found between plasma renin activity and the degree of oedema in kwashiorkor. Increased renin activity probably results from a terminal change in cardiovascular function.